About SPOKE Gallery:
The medicine wheel, originating from a Native American tradition, is also referred to as Sacred Hoop. The medicine wheel represents the sacred circle of life, its basic four directions, and the elements. It is a symbol of balance, symmetry, healing, and oneness. “It teaches us that all lessons are equal, as are all talents and abilities. Every living creature will one day see and experience each spoke of the wheel and know those truths. The Medicine Wheel is a pathway to truth and peace and harmony. The circle is never ending, life without end.”
SPOKE’s philosophy and values are deeply entwined with that of the medicine wheel. We too believe that every person has talents and abilities to share with the world and that, through art, they can unlock them. By participating in the art—whether that’s creating the art, experiencing the art, or taking a cultural action in response to the art—we believe that community members are taken on a transformative journey that helps them gain a deeper understanding of themselves, of others, and the overall human condition. This is the phenomenon of art. It engages all people (the creator and observers) in dialogue and takes them to a place of endless possibilities.
Artists of all disciplines are interested in starting a new dialogue about the role of art in culture. Over the years, art has come to be seen as a commodity, not an essential part of everyday life. Art is so much more than that though—it helps individuals access the hidden world of thought, feeling, and meditation. It is a tool that draws humanity together, guiding people towards a greater understanding of self and the overall human condition.
Spoke Gallery is an innovative new program that seeks to act as a hub for artists of all disciplines who want to join the conversation. We realize that many artists lack the networks, support, tools, and/or resources to progress the dialogue forward on their own. By creating a network and space dedicated to redefining the role of art in culture, we hope to provide a support system and home for artists, so that they can grow, learn, and put into practice this exciting and significant concept.
Gallery and connected events are free
and open to the public
All Day – All Night,
THE ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME
Select Collaborative Works of
Allan Rohan Crite
& Susan Thompson
Allan Rohan Crite & Susan Thompson
Singing Angel Wearing Blue Robe
Applique quilt with hand printed and dyed fabric
45″h x42″w
2025
Image courtesy of the artists
Also showing
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Allan Rohan Crite: Urban Glory,
October 23, 2025–January 19, 2026
Boston Athenaeum
Allan Rohan Crite: Griot of Boston
October 23, 2025–January 24, 2026.
SPOKE presents
All Day – All Night,
The Angels Watching Over Me
Select Collaborative Works of
Allan Rohan Crite and Susan Thompson
September 8, 2025 – January 30, 2026
Reception Thursday, September 18th 6:00-8:00pm
Hybrid Gallery Talk (Zoom & in-person)
Thursday, September 18th, 6:30pm
Please visit www.spokeart.org to register to attend the Gallery Talk via online/Zoom
Gallery Hours by Appointment (Please email at least two days in advance– info@spokeart.org)
Spoke Gallery is honored to present, All Day – All Night, The Angels Watching Over Me-Select Collaborative Works of Allan Rohan Crite and Susan Thompson. The acclaimed and revered visual artist Allan Rohan Crite, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 97, helped Thompson develop as an artist from the late 70’s until the early 90’s. Her first studio was in his multistory brown-stone home on Columbus Avenue in Boston’s South End neighborhood. He considered himself Thompson’s “launching pad into the world of art.” Crite’s home was also his studio, a gathering place for the African-American artist community, and a warm welcoming place for those wanting to do good in the world. The first floor of his home also housed the offices of Mel King’s Rainbow Coalition Party1. Crite was a deeply spiritual person and the subject matter of many of his artworks reflect this. He was inspired by African American Spirituals, andthe title of this show, according to Thompson, “is taken from one of the African American Spirituals.” The title of the show also underscores how Crite is still inspiring and watching over Thompson.
The works in this exhibit are mostly textile art quilts that are interpretations of drawings that Crite gave to Thompson. The individual works for this show are installed as one large installation and are a small representation of the images that Crite created for Thompson “to make into saleable items like quilts, wall-hangings, posters and cards.” Most of the angels and madonnas works in the show were made by Thompson in 2025, but some were completed in earlier years and the earliest completion date is from the mid 1980’s. The angels and madonnas are all based on Crite’s drawings. Some of the other works included are what Thompson calls “the figure study series” and these “pieces are based on cardboard mannikins with moving parts that Mr. Crite made” to show her body proportions. She uses these mannikins all the time to make prints that are integrated into her art quilts.
She further shares, “At one time we had formed the Crite/Thompson Studios. This was an outgrowth of an exhibition at The Harvard Divinity School and several other venues which focused on his liturgical art. For these exhibitions, I made an altar frontal, a chasuble and stole. The altar frontal showed a Black Christ flanked by two black angels (designed by Dr. Crite). The chasuble and stole were displayed on a mannikin which made for a nice installation that compliments the artworks on the wall…..Dr. Crite thought that we would have a niche market in the liturgical arena if we had items to sell. He proceeded to make drawings of Madonna’s and angels for me to do whatever the occasion called for. The drawings depicted these Holy personages as Black people. The angel series has a band consisting of 6 angels and a choir of 6 angels.”
This is not the first time Spoke Gallery has had the honor to show their work. They were one of the exhibiting artists in Spoke Gallery’s group show entitled, Earth to Heaven (Sept 20th to November 21st 2014) that also featured (in alphabetical order): Basil El Halwagy, Jesseca Ferguson, Claes Gabriel, Katina Spileos Hayward, Robin Shores, Kurt Tong, Dorothea Van Camp, and Ann Wesssmann.
This Spoke Gallery exhibition overlaps with two major Boston exhibitions featuring Crite’s work: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Allan Rohan Crite: Urban Glory (October 23 2025-January 19, 2026) and the Boston Athenaeum’s Allan Rohan Crite: Griot of Boston (October 23, 2025-January 24, 2026).
1 Mel King was Crite’s neighbor and Jesse Jackson based his Rainbow Coalition Party on King’s model. “King was an educator, youth worker, social activist, community organizer and developer, elected politician, author, and an adjunct professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)… In 1973, he was elected as a state representative for the 9th Suffolk District and served in the Massachusetts Legislature until 1982.”
For more information about Mel King: https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/honorable-melvin-king
About Allan Rohan Crite
Allan Rohan Crite was born in 1920 in New Jersey, but moved to Boston when he was as infant with his mother and father who worked as an engineer in Boston. Crite grew up in lower Roxbury and attended the Boston Public Schools. His “early interest in art was cultivated at the Children’s Art Center and nurtured by his mother who regularly took him to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum. While still a Boston public school student, he took art classes at the Museum of Fine Arts by special arrangement. In 1929, he enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts where he completed studies in 1936…After two brief stints with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), he went to work in 1940 as a draughtsman at the Boston Naval Yard where he remained until his retirement in 1974…He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the Harvard Extension School where he subsequently became a part-time librarian. He also studied at Boston University and the Massachusetts College of Art.”
Crite was an acclaimed and widely celebrated visual artist who mentored many other artists. His work are “in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Smithsonian Institution, Museum of African American History, Boston Athenaeum, Phillips Collection, Corcoran Gallery of American Art, Boston Public Library, Newark Museum and others, as well as by many one-person exhibitions, including Allan Rohan Crite: Artist-Reporter of the African American Community (2001) at the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington.”
All the above information and quotes are from the National Center for Afro-American Artists’ webpage about Crite: https://ncaaa.org/museum/collections-exhibitions/alan-crite/
About Susan Thompson
Susan Thompson is a Boston-based artist who works in fibers and textiles as well as printmaking, drawing, encaustic paintings, mixed media, and public art. She has taught art in public and private schools, museums, neighborhood houses and other community and academic institutions. Thompson is a member of the acclaimed African American Master Artists in Residency at Northeastern University that was founded by the late Dana Chandler. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum selected her as one of their Luminaries for 2025 for its Neighborhood Luminary Salon.
“Susan Thompson has exhibited widely in solo and group shows. Her work is represented in private and public collections. She has created public art for the MBTA Orange Line, the Parks Department, the Afro-American Museum of History, the Children’s Museum, Bunker Hill Community College and Beth Israel Medical Center. More recently, with Johnetta Tinker, she created a mural in Roxbury that paid homage to the distinguished artist, Allan Rohan Crite. Susan has received awards from Paige Academy, Community Works, Mass Council for the Arts and Humanities, and became a Brother Thomas Fellow in 2021. She has travelled to China, Japan, Haiti, Cuba, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Benin Africa and more recently to South Africa. She visited these places as a participant in various cultural exchange projects.”
For more information about Thompson – see her website: www.theartofsusanthompson.com
Above quote is from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s webpage about Thompson:
https://www.gardnermuseum.org/susan-thompson
Image credit: “Christian Nationalism and the Insurrection of January 6, 2021” Assemblage, 13”x17”x4’, 2024 Image courtesy of Kurt Reynolds & the Rice Polak Gallery; Photo Credit: Warren LeNoir
SPOKE presents
Legislating Hate:
The Destruction Of Allegiances And Democracy
Work by Kurt Reynolds
This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of
Michael Charles Stone (Reynold’s late partner)
and Stone’s mother, Lily Calderon Spitz Stone.
May 12th to June 27th, 2025
Reception Wednesday, June 4th 6-8pm
Hybrid Gallery Talk (Zoom & in-person)
Wednesday, June 4th, 6:30pm
JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
Please visit www.spokeart.org to register to attend the Gallery Talk via online/Zoom
Gallery Hours by Appointment (Please email at least two days in advance- info@spokeart.org)
Spoke Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition by Kurt Reynolds entitled, Legislating Hate: The Destruction Of Allegiances And Democracy. This is not the first time Spoke Gallery has had the honor to show his work. He was one of the exhibiting artists in Spoke Gallery’s 2014 02127/02210, an annual summer exhibition which also featured the work of Walter Crump, Laura Davidson, Jane Deutsch, Josh Falk, Lilliana Folta, Jeffrey Heyne, James Montford, Kenji Nakayama and Mary Sherman. The summer annuals ran from 2012 to 2019 when Spoke Gallery was located at its much larger K Street site. These exhibitions highlighted the breadth of talent South Boston is so lucky to have in its two zip codes. Reynolds lived in South Boston’s 02127 zip code from 2004 to 2014.
Reynolds is known for a body of work that chronicles the earliest days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. At that time his work was exhibited widely and documented in the media. He continues to explore political, social and environment issues and their intersection with international conflict, war, loss, grief, and healing. For this solo show,Reynolds is showing a key 1994 piece from his HIV/AIDS body of work along with recent assemblages. He is also debuting a new wall based installation that shares the same title as the title of his exhibition. All of the works on display draw from current, recent and/or related historical events. For example, his 2024 assemblage work, which is also the image for the show’s postcard, is entitled, “Christian Nationalism and the Insurrection of January 6, 2021”, directly references the history and the rise of Christian Nationalism here and beyond and the unprecedented 2021 event that shook the U.S.
The objects and materials in Reynold’s assemblages are carefully chosen by him and help to underscore the intent and meaning of his works. He shares this insight about his art making process: “As an assemblage artist, my first task is gathering my thoughts and materials which at times can be lengthy and involved. There is a period of research, conversation, and collaboration which comprises the emotional, political and personal process of my art making…. I often use found, selected, and purchased memorabilia, which can be historic, and hold the broader space for allegory and metaphor, alongside documentation.”
Reynold’s beautiful thought-provoking art is deeply rooted in his work history, advocacy, and personal experiences. He shares, “I was involved in the fight for inclusion of children with differing abilities to be served in the public school system in the 1970’s, alongside positions working in the field of education and as an art therapist with children and adults. I have worked as a licensed mental health provider and in program development and administration of supporting the needs of people living and dying with HIV/AIDS beginning in the 1980’s, and onward with numerous affiliations and projects in the arts and social services. As a gay man, long-term HIV/AIDS survivor, and Activist Artist I watch my country spinning towards Fascism.”
His new large-scale installation, Legislating Hate: The Destruction Of Allegiances And Democracy, according Reynolds, “… is meant of provide a visual and tactile environment for the examination proposed anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation which creates an infrastructure for the destruction of Democracy.” This potent and chilling piece is comprised of five components: 1) Deconstructed American Flags- that directly reference what current anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, regulations, and policies the federal government and certain state governments are implementing that are causing the fragmentation and loss of a united, integral country, and the division and divisiveness that is tearing-apart the lives of people. 2) Bundles of Sticks – which are meant to represent the history of humans burning humans – from religious persecution, to self-acts of protest, to terrorism, to the ovens of the holocaust, etc. These sticks also reference the derogatory term for gay men which derives from: a faggot of sticks used to start a fire to burn something (or someone). Reynolds collected his initial bundles of sticks from the “Fens”, a part of the Boston’s Emerald Necklace Park system to reference a place and time where, despite the dangers gay people gathered. The dangers were that gay men were criminalized entrapped, harassed shammed and the political climate of the time made it acceptable to harass and assault individual gay men. 3) An Empty Wheel Barrel – that is covered in hand sewn American flags of different sizes, cloths, and ages-many dating back to the late 1800’s. This object references the use of wheel barrels in the transporting of bodies to mass graves and to the funeral pyres of war and genocide. 4) A 8’x11’ Map of the Unites States – that is drawn in pencil onto canvas with the intention of providing a tactile map depicting the legislative actions that embrace and promote hate, persecution, and human erasure. By choosing to draw the map in pencil, Reynolds, is also underscoring the fragility of the union of the “United States of America”. 5) Informational Tags- that highlight state anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and regulations that have been filed and/or passed. Reynolds sourced this information from the ACLU’s website on April 11th 2025.
Reynold’s powerful and timely exhibition is a direct call to action to save our country’s democracy and to protect the civil rights that so many fought so hard to obtain. And there is no time to waste.
“The civil rights movement didn’t begin in Montgomery and it didn’t end in the 1960s. It continues on to this very minute.”— Julian Bond, co-founder and first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center
“Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.”–Timothy D. Snyder, American Historian
About Kurt Reynolds
He is a graduate of Mass College of Art & Design and he holds a Master’s in Education from the Arts institute of Lesley College. He most recently showed his work at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Rice Polak Gallery, the Commons, the Provincetown Museum, and the Fine Arts Works Center. Reynolds was the co-founder of Visual AIDS Boston and he has participated and consulted with numerous museums and arts organizations over the years on HIV/AIDS art related programing: the MFA the Rose Art Museum, the Boston center for the Arts, UMass Boston, etc. His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and also in many other private collections. For more information:
PREVIOUS SPOKE GALLERY EXHIBITS and ARTISTS
Ecology begins with…
A group show of small works that call attention to the ecosystems we live in.
Exhibiting artists:
Kathleen Bitetti, L’Merchie Frazier,
Kate Gilbert,
Eric Grau, Henrietta “Queen” Hodge,
Susan Krause, and Esther Premkumar.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, administrated by the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events. It is also supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.